Johnston Press jobs under threat

Johnston Press has revealed plans to cut editorial jobs across its operations in the UK.

The Edinburgh-based publisher announced the move in a memo to staff on Friday.

The number of planned redundancies was not specified but the National Union of Journalists said 32 posts in Scotland were at risk.

The move comes as the company, whose titles include The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post, continues to cut costs following a decline in revenue.

The memo, sent by editor-in-chief Jeremy Clifford, said: "We're reviewing the structures within every newsroom, considering if we are best placed to deliver the content to our audiences in the fastest, most efficient way, and if not, identifying how we need to organise ourselves better.

"We need to consider if we have we got the right mix of managers, writers and those who curate and collate content from our communities.

"Other considerations include looking at the print portfolio, and have we got the websites most appropriate for our markets."

'Areas identified'

He added: "We expect the review of our newsroom structures will lead to a reorganisation for some of our teams as well. In some cases that will mean a reduction in team sizes.

"We have identified a number of areas where job reductions will come from and how that may affect different teams directly.

"Later today a number of announcements will be made about some of those proposals.

"These will set out our intention but it will take some time to work out the detail of those changes and how we want our organisations to operate in future."

Johnston Press, which also publishes the Edinburgh Evening News, later said it would be making no further comment.

'Journalists shocked'

NUJ Scotland national organiser Paul Holleran said: "It would be an understatement to say that journalists across Johnston Press are shocked at this latest round of job cuts.

"The NUJ will work with local management to mitigate the redundancies and their impact on the quality of titles but we are seriously concerned at this announcement."

Earlier this week, Newsquest announced plans to cut editorial jobs at the Herald and Times newspaper group.

The group said the move was aimed at ensuring "the long-term sustainability of the business" in the face of "challenging" trading conditions.